Beautiful Soup to Present Laurette Taylor, Tennessee Williams and Billie Holiday in Rep, Beg. 8/27

Steven Carl McCasland is a rising voice in the world of theatre. After their acclaimed and sold-out production of Little Wars in April, Beautiful Soup presents the last two works in McCasland's trilogy. The plays examine the lives of historical women in the arts. Beginning on August 27th, Shades of Blue: The Decline and Fall of Lady Day and What Was Lost, an examination of Laurette Taylor's preparation for The Glass Menagerie, will open at the Dorothy Strelsin Theatre.

In Shades Of Blue: The Decline and Fall Of Lady Day, McCasland takes a searing look at the final years of Billie Holiday's life. The intermission-less memory play chronicles Lady Day's sordid history of sexual, alcohol and drug abuse. Gardenias rarely survive the winter. Join Lady Day as she prepares to take her final bow. Suzanne Froix stars as the tortured but talented Holiday. She is joined by Kristen Gehling as stage and screen star Tallulah Bankhead, Orlando Iriarte (Moose Murders, Yentl) as Holiday's manager Joe Glaser and Ron Denson as Holiday's final husband, Louis McKay. Alana Inez, Somie Pak, Laurie Sammeth and Carol Sims are also featured.

After a six-year hiatus, beloved stage actress Laurette Taylor returns to the stage in McCasland's What Was Lost. For the first time in nearly a decade, she takes to the stage sober. Chronicling her process from the first rehearsal of Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie through her legendary first performance as Amanda Wingfield, What Was Lost is a piercing look at the lies we tell ourselves in order to survive. Pennylynn White stars as Laurette Taylor, with Paul Thomas Ryan as Tennessee Williams and Kristen Gehling as Tallulah. They are joined by Renee Heitmann, Colin Fisher (Liliom), Kimberly Faye Greenberg (One Night With Fanny Brice, Little Wars), Brian Piehl and Renee Heitmann.

Hailli Ridsdale returns to Beautiful Soup as Production Stage Manager for both productions, with Lighting Design by Molly Tiede (Lift, Liliom). McCasland helms both workshop productions.

The limited engagement will begin on August 27th and run through September 13th, 2014. Beautiful Soup is best known for reviving lost or oft-forgotten works, but occasionally presents workshops of new plays and musicals.

Tickets for Little Wars ($20-25) and Shades Of Blue ($18) will go on sale to the public on June 1st at http://beautifulsoup.showclix.com. The Dorothy Strelsin Theatre is located at 312 West 36th Street on the second floor.

For more information on Beautiful Soup Theater, visit www.beautifulsouptheatercollective.org.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE FOR WHAT WAS LOST:
Thursday, August 28th - 7:00pm
Friday, August 29th - 8:00pm
Saturday, August 30th - 2:00pm
Wednesday, September 3rd - 7:00pm
Thursday, September 4th - 7:00pm
Saturday, September 6th - 8:00pm

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE FOR SHADES OF BLUE:
Wednesday, August 27th - 7:00pm
Saturday, August 30th - 8:00pm
Sunday, August 31st - 2:00pm
Wednesday, September 3rd - 2:00pm
Friday, September 5th - 8:00pm
Saturday, September 6th - 2:00pm
Sunday, September 7th - 2:00pm

*Additional performances may be added at a later date.